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Kev-Race! 2010 Mazda MX5 Championship – Rounds 8 & 9

Sam — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:07:15 +0000

If you have kept up to date with the blog, you will know our Director Kevin Taylor is looking to relive his glory days when he was a young racer. Seeing the 6th Rocky or Mickey Rourke’s return to the silver screen in the ‘Wrestler’, shows you’re never too old to make a comeback!

Last time we left off, Kevin raced well in the E3 Sport team’s Mazda, making good progress. This time around though he had a much tougher time at Cadwell Park on the 5th and 6th of June. Kevin was the only E3 Sport representative with team-mate Chloe Edwards watching from the sidelines. Despite running well in Friday testing, Kevin only managed 17^th on the grid out of 28 cars in Saturdays qualifying.

The weather for the races was pretty grim too and sitting in his open-top MX5, Kevin was soaked. Kevin managing a poor 24^th in the first race and a disastrous retirement in the second.

Better luck next time where on 19 and 20^th June, Kevin and the team head off to Castle Combe for the next round.

Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Balboa_(film)

Race, Kev, Race! 2010 Mazda MX5 Championship – Rounds 4, 5, 6 & 7

Sam — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:35:49 +0000

If you’ve been keeping up-to-date with our Director Kevin Taylor’s Schumacher-esque return to racing, you’ll be well aware of the thrills and spills of his first day back in the racing seat.

To recap, the Mazda MX5 Championship, like F1, is a series of races where points are scored. Kevin is racing in a Mazda for Jim Edwards’ E3 Sport, who Gravytrain proudly sponsor. The other members of the team are Jade & Chloe Edwards, both of whom have raced in the Ginetta Junior championship with many other racing accolades between them.

Last time at Brands Hatch Kevin finished off 24th the first couple of races and unfortunately crashed out in spectacular style in his third outing.

Drawing a line under that setback, Kevin raced in rounds 4 & 5 at Snetterton on the 23rd & 24th of April. Wanting to be able to look his employees in the eye on Monday morning, he accomplished a very impressive 15th and a respectable 29th.

In the end Jade accomplished a top ten finish in heavy rain, while the rest of team managed a decent outing as well.

Rounds 6 & 8 took place at Oulton Park on the 15th May where Kevin, Jade and Chloe represented E3 Sport proudly. Once upon a time 14 years ago, our boss Kevin podiumed there in a front wheel drive Renault 5TS. This time around though he bagged decent 17th and 28th places.

The highlight of the day for E3 Sport was the Top 12 finish for Jade, beating her Granddad who had qualified in 8th place racing for Rob Boston Racing.

We now head into the next two rounds taking place on the 5th and 6th of June at Cadwell Park. Next time as Kevin sits in his Mazda emblazoned in the Gravytrain logo, he is representing everyone here at the office. We look to him to set us an example on how to achieve. Hopefully he will not let us down.

So, no pressure. Race, Kev, Race!

Online Marketing for Profit

Hannah — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:13:45 +0000

There are lots of ways to market your business online – but how do you know where best to focus your efforts?

With profit at the forefront of every business owner’s mind, which methods are most likely to yield a return on investment?

Business owners face a barrage of messages about how cost-effective online marketing is (and indeed it can be), but without a full understanding of the online marketplace, mistakes are frequently made and can be costly.

So, how do you maximise ROI from your online marketing efforts?

Join us for our “Online Marketing for Profit” Knowledge Session at Bacco in Richmond 14^th May 2010.

I will talk you through the options available and help you avoid the most common pitfalls in this informative, interactive and ‘hands-on’ session.

Workshop content includes:

Web Design – how to ensure your site makes it as easy as possible for customers to convert
SEO v PPC – the pros & cons; plus which is best for your business
Social Media – beyond the buzz… How to leverage social networks to benefit your business

You will leave this workshop with a clear understanding of the online marketing options available and which fit best with your business objectives.

Early booking is highly recommended as places are limited to 16 people click here to book…

For those of you who can’t make it, I will of course share my slides here after the event

2010 Mazda MX5 Championship – Rounds 1, 2 & 3

Hannah — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:41:08 +0000

Brands Hatch saw the first three rounds of the Mazda MX5 Championship on 10th & 11th April and the series got off to a flying start.

The Gravytrain sponsored E3 Sport team (who of course include our MD Kevin Taylor as one of their number) did us proud in a fiercely competitive, packed grid.

In group one qualifying, Chloe finished an impressive 7th in her group, clocking in a time of 59.125 seconds. She was closely followed by Kevin in 11th with a time of 59.653 seconds.

In group two qualifying Jim Snr finished 14th with a time of 59.726 seconds and Jade finished 21st in 60.211 seconds.

And so to the race proper – Chloe put in an absolutely fantastic performance, finishing 12th; 8th & 10th – which places her 15th in the overall Championship standings. Stonking!

Jim Snr also put in a solid performance finishing 10th, 12th & 17th which places him 20th in the overall Championship standings.

Kevin's car after the 3rd Round... Ouch

Kevin had a bit of a torrid time – despite getting spun in the first round he recovered and managed to place 24th; it was a similar story in round two where after being bumped off he placed 24th again. In the third round he crashed out, this time failing to finish. This sees him placed 45th overall.

Likewise Jade suffered a similar fate – crashed out in round one, a puncture in round two, bad times. Fortunately round 3 saw things start to go her way as she finished 14th. This places her 49th overall.

Want to live it for yourself? Join Kevin in the driver’s seat in the second round by viewing the in car video footage below – watch out for the spin around 6 minutes 10 seconds…

Brands Hatch Race 2 – 10th April 2010 from Kevin Taylor on Vimeo.

So what’s next? Rounds 4 & 5 take place at Snetterton, Norfolk on 24th & 25th April - we can’t wait!

Gravytrain to sponsor E3 Sport in the Mazda MX5 Championship

Hannah — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:00:20 +0000

Tuesday 30th March saw the launch of the Mazda MX5 Championship, the biggest single-make motor racing series in the UK. With 95 cars, over 100 drivers and over 160 hours of TV coverage via MotorsTV, Eurosport & ITV4 this series looks set to be a corker.

Here at Gravytrain we’re very excited as not only are we sponsoring one of the teams – E3 Sport; our MD Kevin Taylor will be racing too! Over the next few weeks we’ll also be launching a new website for E3 Sport, and managing their online presence.

Having briefly considered doing a 'Dukes of Hazard'; Kevin elects to enter the car the old fashioned way...

So, who are E3 Sport?

Bar Kevin, it’s a family affair. The team is managed by Jim Edwards Junior, who started racing back in 1985 in the Super Road Saloon series. Jim Junior is a former Elf Renault 5 GT Turbo champion, Renault Clio Cup champion and BTCC race winner.

Jim Edwards Senior (Jim Junior’s’ father) has come out of retirement to race again. He’s a seasoned pro – a former Formula 3 driver and the 1979 Renault 5TS champion.

Racing prowess certainly runs in the family, as he’s joined on the team by Jim Junior’s daughters Jade and Chloe.

Jade, 19 competed in the 2006 Ginetta Junior Championship, was one of only two female drivers to be awarded a Race Drivers Academy Scholarship; and won the Cosmo Magazine ‘Risk Taker of the Year’ award in 2006. Chloe, 21 has seen similar successes – most notably finishing 3rd in the 2008 Renault Clio Cup Scholarship.

Kevin Taylor’s also no stranger to the circuit having raced in 4 successive Renault 5TS Championships, finishing 3rd in 1995. He also finished 3rd in the 1996 VW Polo G40 Cup.

So understandably, we’re expecting big things from the E3 Sports team; the first round commences on 10th April and we can’t wait!

The track day launch was fantastic, and Kevin even took one of our clients for a spin – Mark Hare, MD of Bedford Insurance. Check out the video below:

When asked if he enjoyed the experience Mark said “I’ll be fine once I’ve changed my pants…”

The iPed. Segway team up with Apple.

Sam — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:49:22 +0000

The rumours are true: Apple and Segway are getting into bed together to make the Apple iPed! The history making announcement was made via a press conference in San Francisco on March 31st 2010 regarding the revolutionary new personal transportation and multimedia device.

Apple’s Steve Jobs stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Segway Vice President of International Business Claude Le Blond at the conference held in the trendy San Francisco Hilton. With a glint in each others eye, and a knowing wink from Jobs to his podium companion; they began the announcement.

“You take the performance and engineering prowess demonstrated by the Segway…” -Claude Le Blond proclaimed. “… and then take magical and revolutionary technology behind the iPad” -bellowed Jobs as he slid in front of the Segway representative.

These men were very much at ease with each other; seamlessly finishing one another’s sentences as a metaphor for the flawless way in which they both intend to collaborate the dual technologies within their products.

The look of the product is set to be unveiled at the Gadget Show Live on April 8th in London at 12 noon, which will be the first ever product début by Apple outside of the States. This is indeed a love letter to one of Apple’s biggest markets outside of America.

The iPed will contain a similar set-up to a Reliant Robin in the wheel department, with 3 wheels to counterbalance the forward leaning of users who look down at the adjustable 10 inch ‘iPad Mini ‘ touch screen. The iPed screen is set to have a beta version of the much anticipated Google Street View Satnav that is being developed mainly for cyclists.

Those of us who like our music on the go can plug earphones into the screen to listen to iTunes while scooting around town or blare it out with the optional Dolby Surround Sound speakers. Imagine a sunny day; being the man about town on your iPed in Summer with Michael Buble playing out. Shades on, a trilby hat, tweed board shorts and your best converse trainers. The ladies sunbathing by the fountain will be bait waiting to be wooed by our hero on his chariot.

The iPed will hopefully be the killer device that will make those of us who ridiculed the iPad take note that Apple is still here to kick ass and take names.

Will you be tempted to purchase this ground-breaking product or do you think this is the new Macbook Air/iPad fail?

Please comment below to let us know what you think.

We’re Recruiting…

Hannah — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:11:52 +0000

*Update: This position has now been filled*

We’ve recently won some lovely new SEO & PPC clients – as such we’re recruiting a PPC/SEO Exec (your time will be split roughly 50/50 on PPC and SEO), who’ll be based in our offices in Hampton Hill, TW12 1ND.

A full job spec is detailed below; to apply please email a CV and covering letter to hannah@gravytrain.co.uk or to discuss the opportunity further call 020 8941 2364.

Reporting to:

SEM Team Manager

Duties & Responsibilities

Assist in the management of our client’s PPC campaigns.
Assist in the planning, development and implementation of strategy to improve ranking, traffic and the conversion rates of our SEO clients
Identify and analyse key metrics and assess the performance of campaigns, providing clients with written monthly reports
Day to day client liaison via phone / email / face to face
Keep up with industry news and developments
Represent the company at industry events / conferences
Create new business pitch documentation and attend pitches

Person Specification

Personality

A self-starter you will be driven, positive and focused on delivering high quality results for our clients.

Skills / Experience:

Essential:

A minimum of one year’s hands on PPC experience gained either client or agency-side
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong analytical skills
A genuine passion for the web, online marketing and social media

Desirable:

University graduate
Be active within the online marketing community
Previous experience of SEO / social media / online reputation management / email marketing

Working Hours

Monday – Friday 9am – 5.30pm.

Salary

Up to £26k per annum depending on experience

Benefits

Private health care and subsidised gym membership.

Happy New Year!

Hannah — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:30:51 +0000

Just a quick post to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

This xkcd comic seemed strangely appropriate… enjoy

Birthday Celebrations!

Hannah — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:00:07 +0000

Today Gravytrain is 10 years old!

We’ll be celebrating with Gravytrain employees past and present at what will undoubtedly be a decidedly boozy company barbecue. We’re chuffed to bits to have got here, and of course would like to thank our wonderful clients, friends and families without whom none of this would have been possible.

Cheers!

Image credit Sheriff of Nothing

The First Post

Hannah — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:35:25 +0000

Hello there!

Welcome to the Gravytrain blog. Here we’ll be talking about a wide range of subjects – SEO, PPC, Web Design, Social Media and much more.

Hopefully you’ll find our musings thought-provoking, and (dare I say it) – useful. We’d actively encourage you to take part, and comment / share as you see appropriate.

See you soon!

Image credit OiMax